Turning a green mulberry bowl blank

About a month ago, a neighbor cut down a mulberry tree from his yard. Instead of throwing it away, he gave it to me. 

I don’t have a chainsaw so I split a log in half using several tools as wedges. The log was pretty straight so it split really nicely.

I used a small axe to flatten the piece a little. 

I then clamped the piece on the bench and cut it to size with a saw. 

I used the axe again to trim the sides so it fits on my jointer. 

Then I passed the piece through the jointer. When I finished jointing I immediately cleaned the jointer to preventing it from rusting. After all the wood was really wet.

Next I marked the area of the bowl. I used my axe to reduce the material’s height so I can remove as much material as I cut on my small bandsaw.

Then I screwed the face plate on the blank and started the turning process. I used the bowl gouge.

This was a really heavy piece for my small lathe. So I first set the lathe speed at minimum.

I like to use the palm of my hand as a guide, to drive the savings away from me.

Then I made a mortise to fit my chuck’s jaws. I used a small bowl gouge to remove material and then finished the mortise with my skew chisel. 

Then I just mounted the piece on my chuck and started hollowing with the bowl gouge.

I set the lathe at an average speed now.

As I go deeper I change the angle I use the bowl gouge. I try to let the bevel of the tool’s grind follow the curvature of the bowl.

When my blank was done, I put it in a paper bag full of shavings. I will let it dry for several months and then I will turn it to it’s final shape. This is why I let it rough and thick.

I really enjoyed turning this mulberry. It is a beautiful wood. That yellow color it has is so beautiful.

I hope you enjoyed this one, see you soon with a new project video!

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